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Mark Manson

New episodes every Wednesday. Mark Manson is a three-time #1 New York Times bestselling author and 20-year personal development industry veteran. Solved is the most comprehensive, evidence-based, overly-researched podcast on the planet to help you get an issue in your life, err... solved.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Podcast

It's been one year of SOLVED. 20 episodes, 20 million downloads, 3 million YouTube subscribers, and a truly unreasonable number of poop jokes. To celebrate, I sat down with over 200 of your questions and picked the ones that hit the hardest.

We get into why most people fail at quitting addictions (hint: the problem isn't the feelings, it's that you never planned for them). I explain why, if you have ADHD and can't stop procrastinating, you need to treat yourself like a dog that shits on the carpet. We talk about the real science behind manifestation, why it sort of works but not for the reason TikTok thinks it does. I break down the difference between trait confidence and state confidence, and why "build evidence" is only half the equation. We cover how to handle panic attacks, getting over a "perfect" ex (spoiler: they're not perfect, and thinking they are is the problem), the uncomfortable truth about self-love, the difference between a boring relationship and being bored in a relationship, the purpose vs. money question, what FIRE retirees never tell you, and what I'd reincarnate as. Plus some big announcements: we're going back to the mega episode format in June, the PDF guides are returning, and our first topic is going to be how to actually change your life.

• Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩

• Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at ⁨https://www.purpose.app⁩

Chapters:

0:00: One-Year Anniversary and Show Announcements

4:37: Overcoming Addiction and Relapse

8:18: Procrastination and ADHD

11:30: The Science of Manifestation

16:11: Panic Attacks, Siblings, and Getting Over a "Perfect" Ex

20:18: Self-Love, Gratitude, and Religion

27:12: Relationships, Purpose, and Money

36:07: Maladaptive Daydreaming, Personality, and Growing with Friends

39:59: Nomadic Living, FIRE Retirement, Purpose Anxiety, and Reincarnation

Follow Mark

Mark's IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

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Your Questions On Manifestation, Confidence, and Getting Over Your Ex, Solved

Nearly 60% of American workers are checked out at their jobs. Meanwhile, every graduation speech in history tells you to follow your passion and you'll never work a day in your life. So which is it?

In this episode, Drew and I debate both sides. I argue for passion. He argues for practicality. And what we discover along the way is that the whole question is kind of a false dichotomy. We get into the psychology of harmonious vs. obsessive passion (and why one leads to fulfillment while the other led Kurt Cobain to write "I don't have the passion anymore" in his suicide note). We talk survivorship bias, Maslow's hierarchy, and why financial stress literally impairs your ability to think creatively. I share the story of quitting my investment bank job at 24, living on a friend's futon, and knowing within a month that I was never going back. We look at how Jane Goodall took a secretarial job and stumbled into becoming the world's preeminent primatologist. And we land on a phrase I think is way more useful than "follow your passion": develop your passion... because passion isn't something you find, it's something you grow.

Get your free episode guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/passion/

• Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: ⁨https://markmanson.net/breakthrough⁩

• Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at ⁨https://www.purpose.app⁩

Check out our sponsors:

• Factor: Get 50% off and free breakfast for a year at https://www.factormeal.com/solved CODE: solved202650off. 

• Shopify: Get your $1-per-month trial at https://www.shopify.com/solved. 

• 80,000 Hours: Pre-order your copy of their updated Career Guide at https://www.80000hours.org/Solved. 

• Wispr Flow: Wispr Flow is faster and more efficient than any other built-in dictation tool. Download today to try Wispr Flow Pro for one month free using promo code MARKMANSON (redeem on desktop checkout only): https://ref.wisprflow.ai/markmanson-podcast #WisprFlowPartner

Chapters:

0:00 CHAPTER 1: Introduction

5:15 CHAPTER 2: Round One – The Case for Passion

12:49 CHAPTER 3: Rebuttal – Obsessive vs. Harmonious Passion

24:09 CHAPTER 4: Round Two – Financial Stability and Survivorship Bias

39:03 CHAPTER 5: Rebuttal – Regret Minimization and Turning Pro

1:00:48 CHAPTER 6: Round Three – Passion Is Fluid, Not Fixed

1:18:39 CHAPTER 7: Rebuttal – Career Capital and Getting So Good They Can't Ignore You

1:31:23 CHAPTER 8: Round Four – What Actually Causes Passion?

1:47:09 CHAPTER 9: Synthesis – Develop Your Passion

Follow Mark

Mark's IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Passion, Solved: Is It Really Worth Pursuing?

So here's the thing about happiness: the harder you chase it, the faster it runs. That's not some bumper sticker wisdom. It's basically the core finding of decades of research.

In this highlight, Drew and I get into the stuff from our original happiness episode that I think people need to hear the most. We talk about Schopenhauer's idea that happiness is less like finding a treasure and more like removing a rock from your shoe. We dig into why social comparison doesn't have to destroy you (if you compare yourself to the right people for the right reasons). We cover the paradox of choice, why the maximizer mentality is a trap, and why Jeff Bezos says 70% certainty is the sweet spot for decisions.

Then we get into the U-shaped curve of happiness across your lifespan. Your 20s are intense, your 40s can be brutal, and your 70s might actually be the best decade of your life. We talk about why, and what to do about wherever you currently are on that curve.

If you listened to the original episode, this is the part that ties it all together. If you didn't, start here.

Vote for Solved for Best Indie Podcast in the 2026 Webby Awards: ⁠https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcast

• Get your free episode guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/happiness/

• Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

• Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at https://www.purpose.app

Check out our sponsors:

• Waking Up: Get a 30-day free trial and $30 off the annual membership ($119/year). https://wakingup.com/solved

Follow Mark

Mark's IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Solved, Highlights: What Actually Makes People Happy

We pulled over 2,600 studies and ranked 19 of the most common self-improvement techniques across three dimensions: research quality, consistency of results, and actual effect size. Then we sorted them into four tiers: legitimately works, works sometimes, probably not helping, and straight up bullshit. Microdosing landed in the bullshit tier. Crystal healing outperformed several "serious" techniques. And the number one most effective strategy is something so stupidly simple it's almost annoying.

We also get into why everything at the bottom of the list shares one thing in common, why the middle of the list is mostly a fancy placebo, and why nearly everything at the top has been around for thousands of years.

Get your free episode guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/self-help/

Vote for Solved for Best Indie Podcast in the 2026 Webby Awards: ⁠https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcast

 Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

 Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at https://www.purpose.app

Check out our sponsors:

 Henson Shaving: Get 100 free blades (a two-year supply) with the purchase of a razor. Head to hensonshaving.com/solved and use code SOLVED at checkout.

 Brain FM: Neuroscience-backed music engineered to shift your brain into focus, relaxation, or sleep. Get 30 days of unlimited access for free at https://go.brain.fm/solved.

Chapters:

0:06:02 CHAPTER 1: Category 4: Bullsh*t

0:27:29 CHAPTER 2: Category 3: Probably Not Helping

0:51:37 CHAPTER 3: Category 2: Works Sometimes

1:23:50 CHAPTER 4: Category 1: Legitimately Works

1:59:19 CHAPTER 5: Conclusion

Follow Mark

Mark's IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Self-Help, Solved

This book has sold over a hundred million copies, billionaires swear by it. But what if it's a lie? Does the effectiveness of the book change if we find out that the author is a huge scammer and quite possibly made up the whole story that spearheaded the book? 

Vote for Solved for Best Indie Podcast in the 2026 Webby Awards: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2026/podcasts/features/best-indie-podcast

For practical, science-based advice each week that might change your life, sign up for my newsletter here: http://bit.ly/3JRg3NX

Written & Directed by Mark Manson
Edited by Michelle Hsieh
Director of Photography Jess Choi
Thumbnail by Jonathan Sippel

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biggest Self-Help Scam in History, Solved

Meditation has been sold to us as a magic pill for so long that the backlash is almost as overblown as the hype. I spent years deep in Buddhist practice, went on retreats, meditated daily — and then slowly discovered that half the gurus evangelizing it were alcoholics, abusers, or running Rolls-Royce-funded cults. Here's what the more careful research actually shows: there are three things meditation does reliably well, and they’re probably not what you've been promised. More importantly, almost everything you've been told about how to do it is wrong — starting with the idea that the goal is to quiet your mind. If your brain turns into a chaotic mess the moment you close your eyes, that's not a failure. That's the whole point. Get your free episode guide: https://solvedpodcast.com/meditation/

• Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

• Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at https://www.purpose.app

Check out our sponsors:• Factor: Head to https://www.factormeals.com/solved202650off to get 50% off and a free breakfast for a year.
• Shopify: Sign up for your $1/month trial at https://www.shopify.com/solved• Waking Up: Get a free 30-day trial and $30 off the annual membership at https://www.wakingup.com/solved

Chapters:
8:15 CHAPTER 1: Skeptic Claim #1: Meditation Is Overhyped
22:45 CHAPTER 2: Skeptic Claim #2: "Meditation Isn't for Me"
48:33 CHAPTER 3: Skeptic Claim #3: The New-Agey, "Woo-Woo" Crowd Turns Me Off
1:01:01 CHAPTER 3: A Secular, Grounded Alternative: Meditation Without Metaphysics
1:17:35 CHAPTER 4: Conclusion: What Meditation Really Is

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meditation, Solved: Is It Actually Worth It?

If you’ve ever felt stuck, or like you’re doing all the right things but something still feels off, there’s a good chance it’s a values problem. Not a discipline problem, not a productivity problem. A values problem. Most people have never actually sat down and figured out what they care about. Not really anyway.

This clip is from our episode How to Find and Live By Your Values, which came out back in May 2025 and is honestly one of the episodes I’m most proud of. Drew and I go through a bunch of exercises to help you actually figure out what you value, not what you think you’re supposed to value. 

We cover things like: 

 
How to identify your core values with a simple hypothetical scenario.

 
How to clearly define what you want your legacy to be

 
Ways to prioritize your values by making tough decisions.

 
How to turn frustrations into your deepest values.

 
Why the hierarchy of your values is more critical than any single one of them.

 
And why your willingness to sacrifice for something says a lot more about you than just what you think you want in life.

• Listen to the full Values episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pdYVl60TqKLNAwKgFdk0C?si=0aa34991b49f4fcc

• Get your FREE five-day mini course: https://www.solvedpodcast.com/values-mini-course

• Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at ⁠⁠https://www.purpose.app

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Solved, Highlights: How to Find Your Values

Focus is one of those things everyone swears they need more of and almost no one is actually addressing correctly. In this episode, we dig into what the science actually says about attention spans (hint: your brain isn't broken, it's just overwhelmed), why the standard advice to "try harder" is probably making things worse, and what's really driving your inability to sit down and get things done. We get into the neuroscience of explore vs. exploit modes, why flow states feel the way they do, and the four hidden triggers behind most focus problems, none of which have anything to do with your phone. Then we get into the practical stuff: environmental design, deep work frameworks, the maker vs. manager schedule, time boxing, batching, and why a dentist appointment in the middle of your morning can ruin your entire day. If you're the kind of person who opens 14 browser tabs, switches between them for 40 minutes, and calls that "working", well, this one's for you. Get the free guide for this episode: https://solvedpodcast.com/focus/https://solvedpodcast.com/focus/

Check Out Our Sponsors:

• Brain.fm: Stop manifesting focus and go get some. Get 30 days free at ⁠https://www.brain.fm/solved⁠

• IM8: Feel your best self, every day. Go to ⁠https://www.im8health.com/solved⁠ and use code SOLVED for a Free Welcome Kit, five free travel sachets, and 10% off your order.

• Duck.AI: Use AI without giving up your privacy, visit ⁠https://www.duck.ai/solved⁠ today.

Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at ⁠⁠https://www.purpose.app

Chapters:

3:06 CHAPTER 1: The Attention Crisis (Is It Even Real?)

21:55 CHAPTER 2: The Exploit–Explore Dilemma

50:33 CHAPTER 3: The Psychology of Distraction

1:18:50 CHAPTER 4: Flow States and Hyperfocus

1:37:36 CHAPTER 5: Mental Health and the Clinical Realities of Focus

1:56:27 CHAPTER 6: Environmental Design for Focus

2:34:39 CHAPTER 7: Productivity Systems

3:05:29 CHAPTER 8: The 80/20 of Focus

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Focus, Solved

A Hungarian doctor discovered that handwashing saves lives, and was destroyed for proving it. Michael Jordan’s competitiveness made him a legend, then turned him into a prisoner of his own intensity. My ADHD nearly derailed my life and later became the foundation of my career. This video explores an uncomfortable truth: the traits that make you exceptional are often the same ones that create your biggest problems. The real question isn't “How do I change?” but “Is this worth it, and how do I manage it?”

 For practical, science-based advice each week that might change your life, sign up for my newsletter here: http://bit.ly/3JRg3NX

 Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at ⁠https://www.purpose.app

Check out our sponsor:

Get one month of BrainFM free with my link: https://go.brain.fm/idgaf

Written & Directed by Mark Manson
Edited by Daniel Johnson
Director of Photography Jess Choi
Thumbnail by Jonathan Sippel

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Best Thing About You is Also the Worst Thing

We put love on trial — literally. Drew and I squared off in a full debate over whether romantic love is overrated. I made the case that love is basically your brain's con man, a neurochemical hijacking designed to make you delusional about deeply flawed people, and that the most intoxicating relationships are often the most toxic. Drew fought back with the evidence that love is the foundation of social infrastructure, physical health, and long-term happiness. By the end, we came to a gentlemen’s agreement: a framework that explains why we're all chasing the wrong kind of love, and what the right kind actually looks like.

 Sign up for my newsletter, Your Next Breakthrough. It will help make you a less awful person: https://markmanson.net/breakthrough

 Get clarity on what actually matters. Try Purpose, Mark's AI mentor app that learns your patterns, challenges your blind spots, and helps you take action. Get 7 days free at https://www.purpose.app

Check out our sponsors: 

• IM8: Transform your daily routine with IM8's Daily Ultimate Essentials at https://www.im8health.com/solved

• Factor: Head to https://www.factormeals.com/solved202650off and use code solved202650off to get 50% off and free breakfast for a year. Eat like a pro this month with Factor.

Chapters

2:21 Round 1: Love is the Brain's Conman

23:33 Round 2: Love as Social Infrastructure

45:33 Round 3: Love and Happiness

1:07:14 Round 4: We're Drawn to People Who Hurt Us

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Romantic Love, Solved

This is the episode I’ve been waiting to make for a long time. Purpose has been at the core of everything I’ve written and done for over a decade—and in this episode, we go all the way down the rabbit hole. From Viktor Frankl surviving Auschwitz to the myth of “finding your one true purpose,” we break down what purpose really is, why you feel lost without it, and how you can build it into your life.

We also get uncomfortable (in the best way) and talk about the dark side of purpose—how it can burn you out, trap you in toxic ambition, or become an excuse to ruin your life.

And I have a very special announcement to make: Today, I’m launching a new app called Purpose. It’s an AI-powered mentor for personal growth. You talk to it about whatever you’re facing—stress, decisions, conflicts, goals—and it helps you make sense of things. Purpose listens, reflects back what matters most, and turns big challenges into small, actionable steps. The more you use it, the more personalized and helpful it becomes.

 
Get started in the app with a free course on finding your purpose at https://purpose.app/solved

 We also put together a free companion guide for this episode with takeaways and tools to help you get your sh*t together once and for all. Download it here: https://solvedpodcast.com/purpose

Chapters:

(17:20) CHAPTER 1: Foundations: What Is Purpose?

(45:34) CHAPTER 2: Philosophical & Historical Perspectives on Purpose

(1:31:26)CHAPTER 3: The Psychology of Purpose

(2:08:13) CHAPTER 4: The Four Stages of Life

(2:31:33) CHAPTER 5: The Dark Side of Purpose

(3:07:25) CHAPTER 6: Finding and Cultivating Purpose

(3:36:56) CHAPTER 7: Finding Purpose in Work (or Not)

(4:09:14) CHAPTER 8: Practical Tools and Frameworks

(4:24:48) CHAPTER 9: The 80/20 of Living with Purpose

Follow Mark

Mark’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/markmanson

Solved IG: https://www.instagram.com/solvedpodcast/

Twitter: https://x.com/markmanson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmanson/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IAmMarkManson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Finding Your Purpose, Solved

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